When
I say that Rams is a movie about Icelandic sheep herders, I am sure that half
of the people reading this will simply stop, and conclude that the movie isn’t
for them. A movie about Icelandic sheep herders does in fact sound like the
type of thing Lisa Simpson drags the rest of the family to, and the end of
seeing some beautiful, but slow movie about endless toil and struggle – or a
film that Jay Sherman from the critic would love, and the rest of the world
would hate. But Rams is not that movie – it is a beautiful, humane and even
funny movie – a film that sneaks up on you a little bit, as you’re not quite
aware of just how involved you are until the final few scenes of the movie,
that build to a quietly devastating, ambiguous final shot. This is an Icelandic
sheep herder movie that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to just about any
intelligent adult.

The
film is about a pair of brothers – Gummi (Sigurður Sigurjónsson) and Kiddi (Theodór
Júlíusson) – who are both sheep herders, and can see each other’s houses from
their windows, but who haven’t spoken in decades, and generally have as little
to do with each as possible – passive-aggressively using Kiddi’s dog to pass
notes back and forth – and not notes to actually communicate with each, just to
piss each other off even more. We get hints of what came between these two, but
never the whole story. They live in a secluded valley near a small town, and
everyone we meet seems to be involved in sheep herding in one way or another.
The brothers have the last of a hearty stock of sheep, passed down from their
father, and are very proud of this. At the annual sheep competition – where
each farmer selects their prize ram for judgment – a half point (out of 267)
separates the two brothers rams – with Kiddi, the older, drunker, less popular
brother winning, apparently because of the thickness of the rams spine. Gummi
sneaks away to investigate this sheep – and thinks he discovers something
horrible – the ram has scraple. You have probably never heard of scrapple –
unless you’re really into sheep, there’s no need to. But if a herd is infected
with it, they all need to be put down. And since all of the sheep in the valley
are close to each other, that means they all need to be put down – and they
cannot raise any new ones for two years. Because Gummi discovered this, Kiddi
holds him personally responsible – and the cold war between the two of them
heats up. But then, surprisingly, it is Gummi who does something unexpected.

Rams
is basically a gentle human comedy with dramatic overtones. There are some very
funny moments – the way Gummi takes Kiddi to the hospital for instance when he
finds him unconscious in the snow, or the comedic sequence when Gummi tries to
keep his secret hidden from an outsider. The two brothers are, of course, much
like the stubborn rams they love so much – unwilling to forgive and forget what
happened in the past, so instead they constantly butt heads. The performances
by these two actors – especially Sigurjónsson as Gummi, who has a much more
complex role - Kiddi is basically just a drunken ass for most of the movie –
who does a lot with his face, even hidden behind the giant bushy beard all the
males characters in the movie seem to share. The supporting cast have nice
moments – rounding out the movie so it really does feel like its taking place
in a community, not just between these two stubborn brothers. The landscape in
the movie are beautiful in the early scenes - when it's summer, and cold and
foreboding as the movie progresses into winter, and the snow starts piling up,
trapping everyone inside.

The
end of the movie is probably the best part – as it is here where
writer/director Grímur Hákonarson really gets emotional, but not in an overly
sentimental way. In the closing scenes, I was surprised by just how much I
liked these two stubborn brothers, which makes the ambiguous ending all the
more powerful. I don’t think Rams is a great movie – it does follow a fairly
straight line, which is predictable – although the ending is unexpected. But I
couldn’t help but think movies made in Hollywood (and England) about old people
– both Gummi and Kiddi are past the normal retirement age – and how sickening
sweet and sentimental they usually are. Rams is different – more direct, honest
and subtle. And so much better.

About Me

I am an accountant, living in Brantford, ON - and although I am married and have beautiful daughter, I still find time to watch a lot of movies. This blog is mostly reviews of new movies - with other musing thrown in as well.